Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

I blow away the top notes as much as possible and have found that this technique really helps. Also, I became chemically sensitized and my sense of smell became much greater for a couple of months, which was terrible, because many notes made me nauseous, especially lavender and anise/licorice.

Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

In addition to olfactory fatigue, you could also make yourself ill.
I recently went "sniffing" for the first time, after months of basenoting and blind buying. I overdid it. My nose started to burn and I got a headache. I may or may not have become nauseous- I can't remember. LOL. The sales agent can let you sniff coffee beans in between frags. (I smelled 20some which was too many!)

Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

Usually 2 sprays and up will make me almost completely anosmic (from olfactory fatigue) to a fragrance. One spray spread out on wrists and neck will make me get occasional whiffs throughout the day, and if I only dab a fragrance on my wrists, I can smell it constantly all day (thus it's the best way to sample stuff).

It's ironic how the people who say they spray like 10 times a day are the ones who say fragrances don't last on them... not to say that some people's skin doesn't actually suck up everything within an hour...

Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

It depends on so many factors. For one, the chemicals involved. Too much iris - especially the real high quality orris butter - quickly leads to anosmia for me, although I've not had that problem so much with iris based scents.

Also, your nose will get "stronger" the more you use it, if you are sniffing and thinking and critically analyzing what you are smelling. That's like the equivalent of weightlifting for your nose, and its "muscles" will grow. After spending a lot of time critically analyzing natural essential oils and absolutes, I find that I can evaluate many more scents in a row at a store or when testing at home than I used to be able to. It's kind of like learning a language, in some sense.. when you barely know a language it is overwhelming to sit and try and decipher a news cast in the language or whatever - but once you know the language well you could read Shakespeare translated into it without being phased.

Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

Some people think fatigue is becoming nauseous. It's not.
Fatigue is when you can't differenciate the different smells or are even aware of them, like your own body odour - are you aware of that now?

I have Ferrari red and it irritates my nose but in a good way. I could smell it for quite a long time. Polo black because to me it smells like talcy vomit makes me want to do just that, that's not fatigue but nausia.

Avon have some real fatigue inducers, they seem to firework out all kinds of strange notes, they are difficult to pin down. I think soft and round perfumes are the least likely to induce fatigue. Acqua di parma Colonia! I want to eat it! I want to bathe in a bathfull of it. Ice cream soda anyone?

Re: How much before olfactory fatigue??

Some people think fatigue is becoming nauseous. It's not.
Fatigue is when you can't differenciate the different smells or are even aware of them, like your own body odour - are you aware of that now?

I think most know that its desensitizing or numbness. Nauseating situations are usually quite immediate whiffs i reckon and usually happen when someone is just unable to take in a scent without feeling a tad sick. I agree somehow about the natural body scent being only obvious to an intimate partner and vice versa, and we just dont notice it on ourselves.

Olfactory Fatigue

I've noticed for a while that, with only a few exceptions (Kouros, Polo and Arpege PH), if I wear a fragrance for more than two days consecutively, I cannot smell it on myself for more than an hour after application. It's frustrating. Do any of you out there experience this too? My wife can go on and wear a perfume for like 30 or 40 days in a row and still be able to smell it on herself all day (or so she tells me!).

Right now, one way I've been dealing with this problem is by wearing a fragrance every other day, so that I'm not smelling it for days and days consecutively. It works pretty good, but not great. Any thoughts?

Re: Olfactory Fatigue

Well, I can't remember the last time I wore the same frag two days in a row, so that should speak volumes. When I first tried Michael for Men, I remember liking it for half an hour or so, but then not being able to smell it. Now I can smell it for more than 8 hours, and that's just with one spray. Perhaps this is a "stage" you have to go through. What I did figure out is that I need to blow on the area sprayed and try not to breathe in the top notes, or at least that's how I broke out of this problem. I don't know if that's still the case now, but I fear that if I try to breathe in the top notes that I may not be able to appreciate the subtleties of the frag, so I won't deviate from my technique. If you find you can't smell it, after spraying it on your chest, try waving your hand to waft the frag up to your nose every once in a while. That seems to help with the weaker frags.

Re: Olfactory Fatigue

Based on other threads, I recall a handful who've had the same experience as you do... Personally I've worn a certain fragrance for a week straight and did not experience anything different in the way I picked up the scent.

Re: Olfactory Fatigue

If your nose is being bombarded by the same chemicals constantly, its logical that the receptors for those chemicals would be down regulated since the chemicals are in abundance. This is the fatigue one experiences. Take those chemicals away, the receptors will up regulate thus becoming sensitive once again.

Re: Olfactory Fatigue

Originally Posted by Scentologist

If your nose is being bombarded by the same chemicals constantly, its logical that the receptors for those chemicals would be down regulated since the chemicals are in abundance. This is the fatigue one experiences. Take those chemicals away, the receptors will up regulate thus becoming sensitive once again.

Re: Olfactory Fatigue

Originally Posted by Scentologist

If your nose is being bombarded by the same chemicals constantly, its logical that the receptors for those chemicals would be down regulated since the chemicals are in abundance. This is the fatigue one experiences. Take those chemicals away, the receptors will up regulate thus becoming sensitive once again.

So do u mean not wearing the same frag daily or wearing the frag further away from the nose?

Olfactory Fatigue - At First I Was Somewhat Skeptical

...until I went on a 3 week hiatus from my beloved Rose 31. Today I gave it my standard 4 sprays and went out for a bit. I was overwhelmed by the strength and sillage. I rapidly pulled at my shirt to try and get it to dry out a bit. I've put on as many as 8 spritzes in the past, completely unaware that I was probably sickening anyone in a 15 foot radius. I was oblivious!

Re: Olfactory Fatigue - At First I Was Somewhat Skeptical

Hmm.. Intresting. Some days ago, I sprayed on some Acier Aluminium. I wonder if I had sprayed on enough, because I couldn`t hardly smell it myselves. When I had been on my work-place couple of hours, a women came in the door and immediately said: "Mmmmm.. What IS that lovely smell" The shop is about 30 square metre big... I guess I had olfactory fatigue!

Re: Olfactory Fatigue - At First I Was Somewhat Skeptical

Happened to me with ... Kouros. Five sprays.

Someone commented from 8 foot away from me when I went past them in the gym. The sweat could have intensified the smell, but 8 foot away, and all they could have got was a whiff of the scent for a second...

Olfactory fatigue is so real. I make sure that I properly learn how to calibrate each scent as I purchase, and apply only those number of sprays.

Re: Olfactory Fatigue - At First I Was Somewhat Skeptical

One thing you can do is to walk in a big circle (assuming there is no wind), so that when you come around again you can tell if the sillage is strong. I discovered this at a supermarket, when I had to go back and get something I forgot.